In the 1990s, I ran a website about my Klik ’n Play projects, including a somewhat popular piece of free software that allowed other people to build real-time strategy games. I do not remember the URL, but it sounded like users.mywebhosting.com/~jvis/klikplay/index.htm.

At the time, there was no SEO, no social media, no influencer marketing. I couldn’t register a fancy URL. The only way to get people to visit my site was through the laborious process of link building. A link between two websites – which was almost always reciprocal – signified trust and relevance. It meant a real relationship, often forged through long conversations on IRC. My website was reasonably successful for the time, into the 100s of visits per month, but it is safe to say I knew most of the visitors by their nickname. The web was a small, private, and familiar place

Then, the internet changed. Blogs, social media, algorithms, and a host of other innovations made the web humongous, devoid of privacy, and highly unpredictable. This is the internet that most museums have embraced; a web where you can talk to everyone, advertise everything, and fame is always only one viral video away.

Direct messaging

Now, however, it seems to be changing again. Mark Zuckerberg has placed his bets of direct messaging. Twitter’s latest new redesign also emphasizes conversations, albeit in the public space (“to facilitate public conversation”). If your workplace has embraced Slack, your family WhatsApp, your children Instagram, or your neighborhood NextDoor, you have seen that the web is changing. We’re moving from massive public debates to direct relationships between limited communities. The experience of privacy and control increases. It makes the internet feel like the web of yesteryear when you knew everyone by their nickname.

Recently, I was facilitating a conversation with some twenty people from a loosely-knit community. A little bit into the programme, when we touched upon a value the group said they shared, I noticed one participant in the far end of the room looked away. While the other participants eagerly wanted to move on. I took a few minutes to test whether the value was really shared. After a few attempts, the group split in two over different perspectives. What everyone assumed was shared, actually divided the group. The temperature in the room went down. Some people looked away, uncomfortable. We had a conflict on our hands…

Anyone who has worked professionally with communities knows that there is always a chance of conflict. People may interpret the same value or purpose differently. They may fight over old insults or oppose individuals because of their behaviour. Some communities are rife with conflict, while others hide it under a layer of politeness. Few cultural professionals are trained to deal with conflict—in any form. And we hardly talk about it.

I’ve worked with communities for almost two decades and encountered my fair share of conflict. At workshops and conferences, I notice, the interest in the topic is increasing. While (or: when) we are getting better at working with communities, we also face more conflict.

Conflict is inevitible

In communities, conflict is inevitable. No matter how strong the bonds in a community and the degree to which they share the same values, ideas, or purpose, communities are never homogeneous and thus home to different perspectives. This diversity is the strength of communities, and the reason why working with them is so enriching. The potential for and presence of conflict is what makes a community such a valuable concept.

That is not to say that conflict is fun. Typically, it is not. It hurts. It may hurt the individuals in the community, and if you’re facilitating a group in conflict, it may reflect on you. You need to be thick-skinned when dealing with a community in conflict.

“Without cognitive deconstruction and analysis, cultural events, knowledge products, and intellectual achievements run the risk of being reified to little more than signifiers of a market economy.“

We may underestimate the role of culture in the effective development of societies and cities. On the individual level, the impact of cultural expressions is often crystal clear. Sergei Polunin’s famous interpretation of Take me to church, for instance, is creating a life-long fascination for ballet in my young son. On any other level, alas, the impact of culture is more opaque. When positioned within a framework, however, cultural development can go beyond a series of symbolic events and gain systematic importance in the development of smarter cities.

In their paper The Triple-Helix Model of Smart Cities: A Neo-Evolutionary Perspective, authors Loet Leydesdorff and Mark Deakin propose the triple helix model as this framework. I first became aware of the work of Loet Leydesdorff when I heard him referenced at a culture and innovation conference. As he is also my father in law, I have been especially keen on studying and understanding his work, which regularly relates to my work and interests.

The triple helix model of innovation refers to a set of interactions between academia, industry, and governments, to foster economic and social development (says Wikipedia). The model goes beyond simple market dynamics. Instead of the market, communities of policymakers, academic leaders, and corporate strategists are the drivers of innovation. When these communities are successful, they can help cities to become smarter.

Thus, to develop smarter cities, policymakers need to create the conditions that enable communities of different people to be successful.

Today, we proudly present our brand-new Quantum Culture workbook. Quantum Culture is a practical method for strategy development in the age of open source culture.

We – VISSCH+STAM co-partner Erik Schilp and I – developed Quantum Culture based on the learnings from the many projects we have been proud to work on in recent years. Developing the Quantum Culture method took the best part of the last few years, and many of you will have been exposed to earlier versions of the method or its tools in lectures, workshops, or projects we did.

Quantum Culture helps organizations to create flexible, dynamic, and more effective strategies by recognizing and building on their uniqueness, and by connecting around the values, ideas, and practices of their community.

At the core of Quantum Culture lies the belief that there is much diversity among people and the organizations they create, and that these differences need to be cherished and indeed create opportunities. This has always been one of the most important values in our work, and I cannot tell you how proud we are both to work with people who share this value and to have found a way to operationalize it for organizations and individuals around the world.

“Community involvement in the Netherlands is organised with procedures,” an urban developer mentioned at the closing of a session I attended this week.

As a citizen of the Netherlands, I have been and am part of such procedures. They shape our homes and neighbourhoods. Whenever a developer or the local municipality has a plan, they publish it in the local newspaper and online. They may organise an information evening for the people directly involved. Then, when nobody raises their voice, the plan is approved, and the community involvement checkbox checked. Equally, there are procedures for whenever someone complains. It is all very well arranged.

For instance, when the local government announced that a path behind our new home would become a shell path, some neighbours used a procedure to propose a brick path instead. The municipality followed their choice, resulting in a complaint from another group demanding a greener option. We advised the municipality on alternatives, but eventually, they simply called a vote on shells versus bricks, and the bricks won. Community involved?

The Museum of the Future by Jasper Visser

Jasper Visser is an international consultant and facilitator specialized in digital transformation and community leadership in cultural and civic organizations.Read more »

Jasper Visser

Jasper Visser is an international change agent and social and cultural innovator and senior partner at VISSCH+STAM. He helps organizations connect with their audience and facilitates community and cocreation processes. Jasper has extensive experience in the cultural and heritage sectors and social institutions.Discover more about Jasper's work at visschstam.com »